MIAMI — Two days after an emotional win over rival North Carolina, the Duke Blue Devils went to Miami and were immediately dispatched by the Hurricanes, falling 81-59 on Monday evening.
Duke came out flat right out of the gate, posting 11 turnovers in the first half and shooting just 34.4% from the floor, including just 1-8 from deep.
While there are obvious concerns about this team - who sit in sixth place in the ACC with an 8-5 record - Locked on Blue Devils host JJ Jackson believes their struggles in this game can primarily be chalked up to a young, inexperienced team having to play on two days rest after such a hard fought victory against UNC on Saturday.
"I've seen 'Tar Heel hangover' put out there a good bit and I think that's so accurate," Jackson commented. "A team that's dominated by so many freshman and [lacking] that senior leadership...you were worried about something like this."
A one game slip against a good team like Miami is certainly forgivable, but Duke has seven losses on the season and while they haven't fallen out of NCAA Tournament consideration just yet, it's alarming this conversation is even happening after the team began the season ranked No. 7.
Still, Jackson doesn't believe a rough first year for new coach Jon Scheyer is cause for concern, in fact he likens it to the last time Duke had a new head coach who was struggling:
"When Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] took over the job, really at the same age Jon Scheyer is now, those first few seasons in Durham were not great," Jackson continued. "And a lot of people did want to see Mike Krzyzewski fired and move on to the next guy. So it's important to not live as much in the moment, but it is fair to ask those questions."
Things don't get easier for the Blue Devils, who take on No. 8 Virginia on the road Saturday in the only matchup between these two teams this season.